An elderly man was seriously injured after his golf cart collided with a work truck on Loop 303 in Surprise, Arizona, authorities reported. The incident, which occurred just before 12:30 p.m. on Friday, took place in the slow lane near Grand Avenue as the 78-year-old was driving significantly below the freeway speed. He was taken to the hospital with critical head injuries but is expected to survive.
Arizona law prohibits golf carts on roads with a speed limit over 35 mph, but the man was reportedly only traveling 28 mph at the time of the crash. "The calls started to come in about six minutes before the collision happened. I'm not sure the number of calls. There were a few," said Bart Graves with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, according to a statement obtained by AZfamily.com. Motorists are to surely not expect a golf cart in a traffic lane, and despite probably trying, the truck could not slow down in time to avoid hitting the man.
The driver, who resides in Sun City, was speculated by DPS to be either heading to or from the golf course at the time, his clubs still fastened to his cart post-impact. "He was thrown off his golf cart and the head injury comes from hitting his head on the hood of the truck that struck him," Graves revealed in a interview with AZfamily.com. Further complicating the tragic scenario, the man was dealing with a recent diagnosis of early-stage dementia, which his wife clarified could have contributed to his disorientation and unexpected presence on the freeway.
Upon noticing her husband missing and the golf cart gone, the man's wife used his location on her phone to track him down – a modern remedy to an unforeseen misfortune. She dialed 911 and found he was on Loop 303; tragically, by then, the accident had already taken place. This information was relayed by Graves in a statement to AZfamily.com, picturing a desperate attempt by a loved one to avert disaster.
As for the identity of the injured man or the complete extent of his injuries, details were initially kept under wraps. However, DPS later confirmed his critical condition and the expectation that he would survive this harrowing ordeal, as indicated in coverage by 12 News.
